


Child of the Sun

by quixoticyongie



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fate & Destiny, Light Angst, M/M, MENTION OF CHRONIC ILLNESS, Spirit Familiar, ambiguous time period, what even is tone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-24 15:41:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21860359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quixoticyongie/pseuds/quixoticyongie
Summary: A summer morning, Fate smiled down at a woman, as she gave birth to her second son. Donghyuck, born at dawn, child of the sun, came to the world kicking and screaming, surrounded by love and great expectations. For children born at sunrise were a rare occurrence, said to become powerful magicians.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan
Comments: 17
Kudos: 56
Collections: ’00 FIC FEST: ROUND ONE





	Child of the Sun

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt #00224 in the '00 line fic fest
> 
> It's finally here! Oh how excited I've been to share these characters with the world, and this is just the beginning! Donghyuck and Renjun have plenty of adventures ahead of them.
> 
> To my prompter, this was so inspiring to me. Your idea sparked a whole universe within me, and you'll definitely be seeing more of them. So far, I have six pages of just notes, headcanons, and character sheets, so don't you worry. I want to thank you so so much for sending in this prompt, as it sparked my love for writing again. I really hope I'm doing the prompt justice, and that you like the story.
> 
> To my amazing betas Sol, Nickie, Claire, Nina, and Trinity, I love all five of you so much. This story would not have been the same without my friends giving me advice, helping me with backstory and some... future plot points insert eye emoji. I owe this all to you, so from the bottom of my heart, thank you for listening to my 3 am ramblings about how much I adore my characters, and for holding me back when I desperately wanted to write "you're a wizard, Donghyuck" at any given opportunity.
> 
> Lastly, thank you to admin Tea for being endlessly patient with me and my many extention requests. She is a whole saint, and this experience would not have been even half as amazing if she had not been her wonderful self. Round of applause for the best fic fest admin you could ask for.
> 
> Now I hope you enjoy my universe, thank you for reading uwu

A summer morning, Fate smiled down at a woman, as she gave birth to her second son. Donghyuck, born at dawn, child of the sun, came to the world kicking and screaming, surrounded by love and great expectations. For children born at sunrise were a rare occurrence, said to become powerful magicians. Seeing as the family were already made up of great witches, this was not hard to believe. Both parents were held in high regard in their community, and Johnny, Donghyuck’s older brother, was on his own path to glory. As Fate looked down upon the scene, warmth and pride radiating from the new parents, she knew they were both very right, and very wrong. For Donghyuck was a special child in ways they could not yet imagine.

Not many years passed, before Donghyuck fell sick. His parents tried every remedy in the land, but no medicine or magic would cure the illness. They hoped, since Donghyuck was of the age of magical manifestation, maybe he would regain his strength when his powers showed. But no magic revealed itself, and Donghyuck stayed sick. Johnny, still too young to fully comprehend the weight of his parents words, could not believe that Donghyuck wasn’t well. His Donghyuck, his glowing brother with the bubbly laugh, always ready to play. He could never imagine seeing Donghyuck without a smile on his face. And while the colour faded from his cheeks, the smile never left him, and neither did the spark in his eyes. The wise old witches never spoke good news to their parents, but Donghyuck did not go anywhere.

And so life moved on. Johnny grew up to be a handsome young man, skilled in fire magic, the powers that came to him as a young child. Johnny was praised by his teachers, looked up to by his peers, and loved by his family. And even though Donghyuck could do nothing but watch his brother grow up from his bed, the love he felt for the elder only ever grew stronger. Donghyuck watched with shining eyes, as his parents went through photo after photo of Johnny’s graduation. And when Johnny hit the age of 18, Donghyuck stood by, as a beautiful boy knocked on their front door, proclaiming that he was to be Johnny’s familiar from this day and forevermore. And the blush on Johnny’s cheekbones did not go unnoticed, as the two young men slowly got to know each other. The sight warms his heart, yet there is a sting he can not yet describe. A sting of longing for something he will never have.

Some nights were less blissful than others. Some nights Donghyuck spent in pain, fatigue, and endless fever. On those nights, Donghyuck would find himself wishing for a cure, wishing for treatment of any shape or form, no matter the cost. On those nights, the only one who he would let into his room was Johnny. Johnny, who never wore the eyes of pity and sadness that he had grown used to from his parents. These nights were becoming more and more frequent, and no matter how much pain Donghyuck was in, Johnny stayed by his side. After hours of cries and comforting embraces, when Johnny thought Donghyuck had finally fallen asleep, he would whisper him secrets never meant for listening ears. Stories of running far away, just the two of them, a cottage in the woods just waiting for them. As they grew older, Taeyong found his way into the stories too, but the setting never changed. And on those nights, Donghyuck fell into a dreamland of green leaves and bright smiles, the smell of moss and fresh air surrounding him.

Donghyuck was 17 when he overheard the witches talking to his parents about him. His sickness was getting worse, and he would not live to see another summer, they said. As he looked out of the window, his mother’s quiet sobs in the background, he slowly made peace with the thought of leaving this world, ignoring the tears running down his cheeks, suggesting otherwise. After that day, Johnny would spend more time in his room than usual, telling him stories that made Donghyuck smile. Even on the days he didn’t feel like it, he smiled for Johnny. His mother’s eyes rarely met his own anymore, and even though he knew why, not a word was spoken of it. He could not remember a time when his mother’s eyes had not been filled with sadness, but he would take the guilt that came with them any day, if it meant he got to look at her again.

The days got longer, signifying spring coming to an end, and as the witches had foretold, Donghyuck’s health was worse than ever before. Most of the time he spent in a haze, falling in and out of consciousness, not sure what was reality and what was a dream. In his haziness, he saw his brother’s tearstained face, seemingly trying to tell him something, but Donghyuck couldn’t make out the words. He felt a hug, one he had felt many times before, from Taeyong, whom he’d grown quite fond of. He also heard a melody played on a flute, seemingly coming from nowhere. Many small moments like these in between complete blackness. Amongst them, he saw his mother’s face, for the first time in what felt like years. She stroked his cheek, and placed a box on his bedside table, a box Donghyuck could only look at, but not find the strength to reach for. Later, if it were minutes or hours he couldn’t tell, he saw something new. At first, a shadow, moving more like a creature than a human. Growing up in a family of witches, Donghyuck had heard enough stories to know he should be wary. But the exhaustion in his body was stronger than his survival instincts, and as he lay still watching, the shadow grew before him. Suddenly, he was face to face with a boy. He had black hair, some slicked back, some of it falling into his eyes. His clothes were mostly unassuming, but his bright green eyes were anything but. With a curious look, the stranger sized him up, and after a while, he reached out his hand, and touched Donghyuck’s chest. A wave of warmth and pure energy shot through his body, and he sat up with a gasp, eyes wide open. After a few heavy breaths, he realised that he was sitting upright, something he had not been able to do for years. He felt up his back, touching his shoulders, neck, cheeks, feeling the new warmth under his skin, the strength in his limbs. Slowly, he removed the covers from his body, and with shaky legs, got up from the edge of his bed. Donghyuck had never seen the world from this angle before. Suddenly he remembered that he wasn’t alone, and turned to look up at the boy who seemed to have set all this in motion. Or rather, look down, as he realised he was actually taller than him. The boy had taken a few steps back, but was still watching with curious eyes. Speechless, Donghyuck stared at the boy, head full of questions but none of them leaving his lips. As if he could read his mind, the strange boy suddenly smiled, and extended a hand out towards Donghyuck.

“Hello, I’m Renjun. Fate sent me.”

Donghyuck’s eyes went from the stranger’s face, to his hand, and back to his face, not sure how to react to this whole situation. The panic must have translated onto his face, for the boy, Renjun, retracted his hand and looked slightly worried.

“Hey uhh, are you okay? Did something go wrong?” he asked, positioning his arms almost as if to catch Donghyuck. He must have looked even worse than he felt then. Shaking his head, Donghyuck sat down on his bed again.

“Sorry, I just… need to catch my breath,” he said, looking down at his legs again, in awe of the strength he could feel within them, within his whole body. Slowly, he looked back up at Renjun, who was looking rather sheepish in the middle of the room.

“Who are you? And what did you just do to me?” Donghyuck asked, when he finally found the words. The question made Renjun frown.

“I just told you, I’m Renjun,” he said with a puzzled look, which suddenly changed with realisation, “oh, and I’m your spirit familiar, I forgot about that part, I’m sorry.”

All his life, Donghyuck had yearned to sit, stand, walk, and now that he seemed to finally be able to, all he wanted was to lay back down again. This was all too much. Spirit familiars were only designated witches and wizards, people like his brother. Donghyuck possessed no magic, this could not be real. He shook his head at the intruder, pointing an accusatory finger in his direction.

“You cannot be my spirit familiar, for I have no magic, I am no wizard, I am no one. You’ve found the wrong person I’m sure. Are you even real?” Donghyuck was starting to think this was all part of his delusions. The green eyed boy in his bedroom had to be a figment of his vivid imagination. But at his words, Renjun simply smiled.

“If I were not real, and you were truly no one, then your body would not have reacted to my touch. The magic has been lying dormant inside of you, and was activated by the touch of your familiar. You have always been a magician, Donghyuck, I bring merely my presence and my service.”

Every word Renjun spoke, shook Donghyuck’s world to the core. If the boy was speaking truth, his entire life had been a lie. He was glad he was still sitting down, as he received the life changing information. He had always known he was sickly, an early death had been in his cards for as long as he could remember. Being told that this year was the year he would leave this world, had not come as a surprise to him. What he would never have expected, was for a strange boy to enter his room, on his 18th birthday, and change his life forever.

“And to think my brother’s familiar just knocked on our front door like a normal, polite person,” Donghyuck mumbled, trying to grasp the new circumstances he was in. The comment made Renjun laugh, and Donghyuck looked up at the boy.

“I guess I’m not very normal, nor polite. I apologise, I figured gaining access to your bedroom directly would be more effective in activating your powers. Fate emphasised that time was of the essence, with your condition and everything,” Renjun said, seemingly trying to be reassuring, but only worrying Donghyuck further. Just how aware of his condition was Renjun? 

“You keep speaking of fate is if they were a person,” Donghyuck observed. The puzzled look returned to Renjun’s face, his brows knitting together as if Donghyuck had said something utterly absurd.

“Do you not worship Fate in these parts of the land? I thought she was a deity here as well as in the north, but I might have been wrong. Fate is indeed real, she sent me to you when the time was right. Your destiny is just beginning, Donghyuck.” The confidence in Renjun’s voice was unlike anything he’d ever heard, and though he was not sure what to believe, there were more pressing matters at hand than Renjun’s questionable passion for Fate.

“You spoke of my powers, what magic do you say I possess?” Donghyuck asked.

“I thought you would never ask,” Renjun replied with a smile, one he had shown a handful of times already. Donghyuck wondered how someone seemingly his own age, could smile in the way Renjun did. It was a smile free of worries, in a way Donghyuck had never experienced before, “you are a wizard of the sun, and so, you wield the same powers.”

Donghyuck had never heard of sun magic before. Elemental magic was the most common in the land, his brother holding fire powers just like their father, his mother being famous for her skills with the earth and nature. The more Renjun spoke of fate, and his supposed powers, the less it made sense. But there was no denying that Donghyuck felt energised, healthy, for the first time in his life. Something within him had changed. Before he could open his mouth to question Renjun’s words, he heard a rustling outside of his bedroom, signifying that his family was awake. Donghyuck’s head whips around towards the sound, and jumps up, still slightly in awe of how his body is able to move how he wants it to. He opens the door and hurries into the living room.

“Johnny, mom, dad, look I can walk, I’m up I’m okay!” The weight of those words hadn’t really sunk in until now, saying it aloud was very different to just feeling it. Both of his parents were in the room when he entered, and the looks on their faces was a sight he would never forget. After years of seeing his mother with only sadness in her eyes, the pure surprise and joy that radiated from her, was like a whole new world for Donghyuck. After some loud incoherent yelling, and many hugs, his dad looked up past Donghyuck, focusing on something in his doorway. For a second, he had totally forgotten about Renjun’s presence. And he hurriedly stood up to introduce Renjun to his parents. As soon as they learnt that he was Donghyuck’s spirit familiar, he was pulled into the hug as well, met with just as much warmth and love as Taeyong had been, when he appeared on their doorstep a couple of years back. Although Renjun seemed like he had never been hugged in his life, Donghyuck noticed that he adjusted to the feeling pretty fast, and soon enough his family were deeply engaged in Renjun’s tales of Fate and Donghyuck’s destiny, with Renjun by his side. It was only the second time Donghyuck heard the story of Fate and her plans for him, but he was already getting pretty tired of the story. Nevertheless, his parents sat through the whole tale with excitement in their eyes, asking questions about Donghyuck’s future and health. After a quick comment about how he was right about Fate being a deity, Renjun continued his story of Fate and her almighty presence. He was too sure of himself, Donghyck thought. What if Fate had been wrong, and he really had ended up in this situation by a mistake. Or even worse, if she was right, and sat by while Donghyuck suffered, his entire childhood replaced with sickness and agony. He didn’t know what he preferred, other than for Renjun to stop talking.

Johnny and Taeyong had not been home when Donghyuck first went out to see his parents, so he would have to wait for them to return, in order to share the good news. The entire day, Donghyuck would help his parents around the house, cleaning and fetching things for his mother’s cooking, things he had never been able to do. Far too soon it was nighttime, but the two men were still nowhere to be seen. Worry bubbled up in his chest, but he kept a smile on his face, nodding in agreement when his father suggested to wait and see if they had returned in the morning. At the mention of sleep, Renjun shifted into cat form, something Donghyuck realised they hadn’t even talked about before. He made a mental note of asking Renjun more about his powers in the morning, since the day had been so focused on his newfound health, he had completely forgotten. As a cat, Renjun kept his green eyes, and had smooth black fur. He curled up in the pillows of Donghyuck’s armchair in his room, blinking over at Donghyuck, almost as if to say goodnight, before he went to sleep. Donghyuck found himself wanting to pet him, but had to remind himself that it was Renjun inside of the cat form, whom he really had no desire to pet. And so, he went to bed as well, willing the worry in his stomach to calm down. His father was probably right, Johnny and Taeyong would be back in the morning.

In his dreams, Donghyuck saw Johnny’s tearstained face once again, his mouth moving but the sounds leaving him had no meaning. Taeyong hugged him, like a vague memory, and everything clouded in darkness. When Donghyuck woke, it was in a sweat, head pounding with the weight of unanswered questions. It had happened before, he knew it to be true. The devastation on his brother’s face had not been a mere delusion, but a moment of clarity in his sickly haze. Johnny and Taeyong had been to see him, hugged him goodbye. They were not coming back in the morning. Donghyuck’s mouth felt like sandpaper, and he could feel panic rising in his throat. Where was his brother?

“Donghyuck uhhh, are you okay?” Renjun had shifted back to human form, without Donghyuck noticing, and was standing awkwardly next to his bed. At the question, Donghyuck felt tears well up in his eyes, but he desperately tried to compose himself. As much as he tried, Renjun’s careful hand on his shoulder didn’t bring much comfort. Instead, he tried to think back on what Johnny had told him during those nights of pure agony. Tried to remember the rhythm of his breathing, the breathing that Donghyuck had mimicked time and time again to calm himself down. Breathing in, holding it, exhaling, over and over again until his body had stopped shaking. He looked up at Renjun, who still had his hand placed on Donghyuck’s shoulder in an attempt to help. 

“Johnny isn’t coming back. He left, I remember him leaving.” For the second time that day, saying the words out loud hit heavier than he had thought. It felt like he had a ball of cold iron sitting in his stomach.

“Do you know where he went?” Renjun asked, a fairly simple question in its core. But just as Donghyuck was about to shake his head, the question sunk in, and he realised that yes. He knew where Johnny was. Johnny had been telling him his whole life where he was going to run off to. A small sob escaped Donghyuck’s throat, and he nodded up at Renjun.

“Yeah, I know.”

“Well let’s go find him then.”


End file.
